An annual agricultural study tour of Indonesia has again provided a fantastic insight into one of Australia’s most important trading partners.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
![INDONESIAN AG: The University of Adelaide group during their visit to the Great Giant Livestock Company beef feedlot in Lampung, Indonesia. Cattle are fed waste from the company's pineapple plantations. Photo: Mandi Carr INDONESIAN AG: The University of Adelaide group during their visit to the Great Giant Livestock Company beef feedlot in Lampung, Indonesia. Cattle are fed waste from the company's pineapple plantations. Photo: Mandi Carr](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/38Deqn27HisdktPPRtKmxju/b19643f0-1e53-478b-8e3f-b2cf26cd2987.JPG/r102_123_3235_1922_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
In late November the University of Adelaide conducted a 15-day tour including visits to five beef feedlots, three abattoirs, village agriculture and a children’s project in the slums of Jakarta. For the first time it also included Thailand. The group again spent time at Bogor Agricultural University which has just signed a memorandum of understanding as a premium partner with the University of Adelaide.
The group – led by the university’s animal breeding and genetics Professor Wayne Pitchford and production clinician Mandi Carr – comprised 10 ag and vet students, plus three alumni working in industry, and students from the University of New England and Charles Sturt University.
Prof Pitchford said the tour opened the group’s eyes to the huge opportunities in Asia – with more English speaking people among Indonesia’s population of 250 million than Australia.
“They were learning a lot not just about ag production but also climate, culture, politics and the macro and micro economics and how it affects industry,” he said.
It also showcased different ag production systems.
Prof Pitchford said feedlot margins were much tighter this year than 2014. “Beef prices have not risen sufficiently to compensate for the higher prices Indonesian importers are having to pay for Australian cattle.” “They would have been making money on only the kilograms they put not the (cents per kilogram) value,” he said.
Many of the feedlots the group visited had recently been raided by Indonesian police after accusations they had been fixing local beef prices. “They are also blaming Australia for the price rise but we had to explain it isn’t our fault. We are in a world market and we have not had a price rise for 14 years so they have got to get used to it,” he said.
The third quarter quota dropping to 50,000 head from 250,000 head had meant cattle were now fed for longer periods to heavier weights.
“There are still plenty of cattle in the feedlot but they are only selling the same number that are coming in,” he said.